NEW ORLEANS — If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's the importance of life. For some, that means helping and giving back in ways that have an impact on everyone around us. For one local woman it means overcoming her biggest fear to save as many lives as possible.
About every eight weeks, you'll find Kaitlyn Seiler in Ochsner's blood donation office, in a chair.
"I just remind myself not once has it been as painful as you've envisioned it to be," Seiler said.
Donating blood has never been on her radar, especially since she's deathly afraid of needles.
"I feel terrible for all the pediatricians and nurses who had to deal with me as a kid when I got a shot," she recalls. "There was so much anxiety, hysterics, I was dramatic about it, I think I ran away once and all the nurses had to shut down the office and come find me."
However, a year into the pandemic, Seiler wanted to give back, facing a fear that's stuck with her since childhood.
"I have to get over this fear for my own sake," she said. "You can't go through life afraid of needles. As a universal donor I need to be able to do this. This is something I feel called to do and how many signs do you need right?" Seiler said. "I'm in a global pandemic, a relative of mine might need weekly blood transfusions one day and I'm a universal donor so I think someone is trying to tell me something this is meant to be."
Seiler says her first blood donation went much better than expected. A phlebotomist was able to hold her hand through the quick process, and she learned she was O-, an important blood type. She also learned more about why donations are so important.
"It really opened my eyes to how badly blood is needed," she said. "I think of blood donations like if you get in a bad accident and you need it right then and there. And it's more than that. It's for donations, for transplants, labor and delivery, some people need it as often as weekly and I can only give it every eight weeks."
"Not only is this my profession, it's also very personal for me and I know the need for it 100%," Mickie Wilson-Martin said.
Wilson-Martin works at Ochsner's blood bank and knows first-hand how these 10-minute donations save lives.
"In March, my 7-year-old lost three-quarters of her blood. When we got to the hospital we were told there was two minutes between life and death," she recalled. "If they didn't have blood on hand, she wouldn't have made it."
With blood supply dangerously low, Wilson-Martin hopes more people will follow Seiler's lead.
"You never know when you're going to need it, when your loved one's going to need it," she said. "If everyone was a Kaitlyn we would not have a critical shortage in this country."
The pandemic has taken a lot from us, but for Kaitlyn, sitting in the chair every few weeks, has given her and others something to smile about. And something for Kaitlyn, she no longer fears.
Kaitlyn has so far helped about 15 people with her donations this year. If you'd like to donate, you can go to Ochsner's website for more information.